Tame Ducks Shot in Wylie Park

This is sure sad. I've been a hunter since I was a little kid growing up NE Iowa. I have and continue to hunt deer around Decorah, Ia. I have hunted ducks in northern Minnesota and pheasants in South Dakota. There is one main rule of hunting that my dad taught me and I taught my son. You eat what you kill. We hunt for food.

Five tame white ducks at Wylie Park were shot and killed between 9 a.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. Thursday.

"I'm not sure why anyone would do that," said Mark Hoven, parks superintendent for the city of Aberdeen. "It's unfortunate there are people out there who would do something like this, but we hope they catch whoever is responsible."

The ducks were shot in the head with a small-caliber rifle or an air rifle, according to a release from the Aberdeen Police Department. The shooting happened at the northwest pond of the Wylie Park Campground, an area now closed to vehicle traffic.
No shell casings were found in the area, Capt. Dave McNeil of the police department said.

The ducks were found sometime after 9 a.m. floating dead in the water, after someone called the police, Hoven said.

The ducks, which had been at the park for at least two years, have stayed in Aberdeen year-round and had been cared for by city workers, he said.

"They were basically a part of the park," he said.

Other ducks are still alive at the park and campgrounds, he said.

Police do not have a suspect yet. A cash reward is offered for anyone who can provide information that leads to the conviction of the person or people involved, the release stated.

In recent months, an air rifle was used in other unsolved crimes, including the shooting of several vehicle windows. It is unknown if these crimes are connected.